Society

When Bonnie Kan, 24, moved from Hong Kong to Canada in July, she spent HK$70,000 to take her seven pet lizards, snakes and frogs with her. It took eight months to make the arrangements with a reptile shop that helped her relocate her pets. Before boarding, the staff from the reptile shop put warmers between each plastic carrying box to maintain a constant temperature during the flight. "The body temperature of my lizard dropped to 26 degree Celsius when I arrived in Canada. Lizards may get pneumonia if they catch a cold. Therefore, I think the first concern of moving them is temperature," Kan said. Last year, more than 113,000 residents left the city, according to government statistics, many of them with pets. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department told The Young Reporter that the number of issued health certifications for pets that are needed when entering destination countries rose from 6,267 in 2021 to 9,622 permits as of August 2022. Reptiles are harder to move than cats and dogs, as they are banned from entering some countries and some airlines do not accept them. Kan, who ran a store selling hand-knitted clothing items for reptiles in Hong Kong, said her pets were the most important priority in considering which country she would move to. Some countries like Australia ban the import of pet reptiles to prevent bringing any exotic diseases to the local habitat. She eventually settled on Canada, which allows reptiles. If a pet falls under one of the more than 38,700 species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, then a permit is needed. Kan got the permits from the AFCD for her two endangered reptiles, the Tokay Gecko and the Ball Python. “After hearing about an owner who …

A regular afternoon for some might be spent catching up on errands or perhaps relaxing with the family. At Tamar Park, 14 domestic helpers are working up a sweat under the instruction of 32-year-old personal trainer, Walter Vaz.  He has been offering the fitness classes for free since Oct 2 as a way of giving back to the community. "To me, the helpers are the core of Hong Kong. It is unfair that they don't even make a lot of money, or they can't get access to many things. Fitness is about feeling stronger and more confident. This is what I'm trying to bring to people," he said.  Among almost 340,000 of them as of June, according to the Hong Kong Free Press, their minimum wage stood at HK$4,630. Approximately 53% are from the Philippines and another 44% percent from Indonesia. The remainder also come from Thailand, Sri Lanka and Nepal, the Hong Kong Immigration Department reports. Most of them work six days a week, or even more, cleaning their employers’ homes, caring for their children or elderly grandparents. During the pandemic, many helpers have not been able to join their friends on their days off and so adding to the pressure they are under, sometimes at the expense of their mental health.    Helper Choice, a foreign domestic helpers employment agency, reported that during the 5th wave of the pandemic this year, 39.6% of domestic helpers felt unhappy about their life, with 22.2% needing emotional support during the pandemic, while over two-thirds fretted over financial issues. Mercylinda Felimon, 45, is a full-time domestic helper from the Philippines. She was looking forward to Walter’s class on Sunday because she thought it might support her mental health.  “If I can get an activity for free, I’d rather take that because I can …